Moist heat therapy compress

ABSTRACT

A moist heat therapy compress for therapeutic treatment of a treated body part. The moist heat therapy compress includes a fluid-permeable shell, a flexible backing fastened to the shell to define an enclosure, and hydrophilic zeolite fill granules loosely contained within the enclosure. The moist heat therapy compress is exposed to a source of moisture to cause absorption of water into the hydrophilic zeolite, and the moisture is delivered from the hydrophilic zeolite through the fluid permeable shell to the treated body portion.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 13/832,626 filed Mar. 15, 2013, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No.13/291,059 filed Nov. 7, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S.Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 10/380,803, filed May 30,2003, which is a US. National Phase of International Patent ApplicationSerial No. PCT/US2001/028908, filed on Sep. 17, 2001, which claimspriority to and the benefit of the filing date of U.S. PatentApplication No. 60/232,826, filed on Sep. 15, 2000, in the United StatesPatent and Trademark Office, all of which are hereby incorporated hereinby reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to medical treatment devices andtherapeutic methods, and more particularly to moist-heat therapycompresses and wound dressings, and to a wound dressing and/orheat-therapy compress containing antimicrobial metal(s) providing a germand microbial free environment within the article and treated areas.

BACKGROUND

Modern wound dressings are designed to promote healing by providing amoist, warm or heated, wound environment. Warming a wound promoteshealing by increasing blood flow to the area. Moisture in a wound isalso very important to the healing process because it helps cells growand divide, and reduces scarring. Available modem dressings may bedampened or moistened and then heated, for example, by microwaveheating. Concurrent with the development of these dressings is theconcern regarding a potential for microbial colonization of the wound.Antibiotics are available to combat infections but many people areallergic to certain antibiotics and antibiotic usage can causegastrointestinal upset or other side effects. Further, excessive use ofantibiotics has been blamed for the occurrence of treatment-resistantbacteria.

Moist heat therapy applied by an area compress may also be beneficial tothe treatment of arthritic or sprained joints, strained muscles, backpain, rheumatoid arthritis, or in any treatment where heat might beapplied through or to the skin to promote circulation therein andthereunder. In such applications where no wound exudates contaminatetherapy materials, reusability of the compress is an attractivecost-efficient design feature. Bacterial presence can causedermatological problems to the treated area and further, a growingmicrobial colony in a reusable compress can cause the spread ofinfection through cross-contamination when handled. This may represent aparticular threat to therapy patients, many of whom have persistent orslow-healing injuries or compromised immunity systems.

A growing strategy for reducing the potential for infection or bacterialgrowth in a wound or on skin tissue under moist heat therapy is theincorporation of noble metal antimicrobials into the therapeutic wounddressing. The most prevalent such metal in use is silver due to itsrelative lack of cytotoxic effects and wide spectrum of antimicrobialeffectiveness. Medical materials and instruments are available whichprovide the emission of silver metal or silver compounds to provide anantimicrobial effect. Such available dressings, once moistened, releasesilver into the surrounding liquid. The dressing thereby becomes aneffective antimicrobial barrier. The silver, however, is consumed andlost in the process. Such products are inherently not convenientlyreusable.

In both moist heat therapy wound dressings and compresses, bacterial andfungal growth can also cause unpleasant odor and unsightly discolorationwhich may adversely affect the morale of the patient. Thus there is aneed in general for dressings and compresses designed to maintainsterility therein and to also provide microbial free moisture.

SUMMARY

In example embodiments, the present invention provides a wound dressingand/or therapy compress having a granular fill material permanentlyloaded with at least one antimicrobial agent. The at least oneantimicrobial agent comprises a form of silver, which form of silver maycomprise atomic silver or a composition of silver. The dressing orcompress thus comprises a fluid permeable shell and a backing, each ofwhich is attached to the other to define a plurality of fill enclosurestherebetween, and a fill material enclosed within the respectiveenclosures. A fluid permeable outer cover may be provided to protect thedressing or compress. The dressing may be used to shelter and protect awound while absorbing exudate, and may also provide and maintain aheated and/or moist environment to promote the healing of the wound. Thecompress may be used to deliver moist heat therapy to an arthritic orsprained joint or strained muscle area.

In other aspects, example embodiments of the invention relate to a wounddressing and/or therapy compress having a granular fill material such asa hydrophilic zeolite or molecular sieve material, optionally loadedwith at least one metallic antimicrobial agent, such as for example asilver, copper, copper oxide, gold, magnesium oxide, aluminum oxide,titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, cobalt, nickel, zirconium, molybdenum,tin, lead and/or other metals, metal oxides, metal ions, metal particlesor nanoparticles, and alloys, mixtures or combinations thereof. Thedressing or compress preferably comprises a flexible and body partconformable treatment device having a fluid-permeable shell and abacking, each of which is attached to the other to define at least one,and preferably a plurality of fill enclosures therein, and a particulatefill material enclosed and loosely contained within the respectiveenclosure(s). A fluid-permeable removable and replaceable outer covermay optionally be provided to protect the dressing or compress.

The fill material may be prepared wet or moistened, or desiccated todryness to either deliver or absorb moisture as appropriate to thedesired treatment. The fill material absorbs or delivers this moisturethrough the lower shell. The shell is formed to be fluid-permeable,i.e., vapor-permeable and liquid-permeable, and is adapted to be placedin contact with a wound or tissue directly or through a vapor-permeableand liquid-permeable outer cover. The backing may also befluid-permeable, or non-permeable if so desired, so as to allow for therelease or retention of moisture as appropriate to the desiredtreatment.

The shell and backing are joined to form at least one, and preferably aplurality of enclosures there between. The enclosures may contain theloaded fill material. The presence of the antimicrobial agent within allor some of the fill material promotes a germ and microbial freeenvironment at and near the lower shell and within the dressing orcompress. The device and its constituent components are preferably waterresistant and microwave safe, whereby the device can safely be subjectedto repeated cycles of wetting, microwave heating and cooling, withoutsignificant deterioration or loss of its moist heat therapy,antimicrobial or antibacterial characteristics. The dressing or compressmay be washable and reusable.

These and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention willbe understood with reference to the drawing figures and detaileddescription herein, and will be realized by means of the variouselements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing generaldescription and the following brief description of the drawings anddetailed description of the invention are exemplary and explanatory ofpreferred embodiments of the invention, and are not restrictive of theinvention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial side cross-sectional view of a dressing or compressaccording to an example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is partial plan view of an exemplary hexagonal enclosure patternaccording to an example embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an alternate exemplary dressing or compresswith a hexagonal enclosure pattern.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a wrap compress with ties using the dressing orcompress of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a moist heat therapy compress in the form of aneye or nasal/sinus compress according to another example embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention may be understood more readily by reference to thefollowing detailed description of the invention taken in connection withthe accompanying drawing figures, which form a part of this disclosure.It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to thespecific devices, methods, conditions or parameters described and/orshown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments by way of example only and is notintended to be limiting of the claimed invention. Any and all patentsand other publications identified in this specification are incorporatedby reference as though fully set forth herein.

Also, as used in the specification including the appended claims, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural, and reference toa particular numerical value includes at least that particular value,unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressedherein as from “about” or “approximately” one particular value and/or to“about” or “approximately” another particular value. When such a rangeis expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular valueand/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values areexpressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it willbe understood that the particular value forms another embodiment.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-4, and as best illustrated in FIG. 1, adressing or compress 100 is illustrated having a lower shell 102 and aflexible upper backing 104 which are joined or otherwise fastened to oneanother to form a series of enclosures 106 there between. The enclosuresare provided for the containment and relatively uniform distribution ofa plurality of fill granules 108 placed therein. The enclosures may befashioned as filled pods which are draped from the backing. The shell102 forms the contact surface of the dressing or compress used to drapeor form the bottom of the filled enclosures which are to be placedagainst the tissue to be treated, and to conform to the shape of thetreatment area. The backing forms the smoother outer surface of thedressing or compress facing away from the treatment area.

The enclosures 106 may be defined as hexagons using patterned seams 110for local symmetry and efficient regular plane division. An illustrativehexagonal pattern 200 of enclosures 202 is illustrated in FIG. 2. Theenclosures might also be fashioned as circles, octagons, or of anydesired shape as may be appropriated for the desired treatment. Theenclosures may be selectively sized as appropriate to the application.Each hexagonal shaped enclosure 202 has a lengthwise dimension 204extending from a first corner to an opposite second corner thereof. Forexample, and not by way of limitation, this dimension may be in therange of from approximately one inch to approximately four inches inlength. Large treatment areas such as the human torso or appendages maybest be served with enclosures having a dimension 204 extendinglengthwise for approximately 4 inches. Highly contoured areas such asthe face may best be served with enclosures having a dimension 204 ofapproximately 1 inch in length.

An alternate dressing or compress 300 is illustrated in FIG. 3, having aplurality of hexagonal patterned enclosures 302. Each of the enclosuresmay also be formed as a channel-like rectangle, as illustrated in FIG.4. The embodiment of the dressing or compress 400 is formed to haveseveral channel enclosures 402 formed within a wrap compress havingsecuring ties 404. So constructed, the dressing or compress 400 may beprovided for the treatment of soreness or strains of the human back. Inalternative applications, for example as illustrated in FIG. 5, thedressing or compress 500 is adapted for use as an eye compress forapplication of moist heat therapy to a subject's eyes with enclosures502 for containing the fill granules and securing ties 504 forattachment around a patient's head, such as for treatment of dry-eye orother eye conditions; for moist heat therapy to a subject's sinus ornasal areas; and/or for treatment of other body parts of a human oranimal subject or patient for wound care, epitheliazation,antibacterial, antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, anti-inflammatory,analgesic, moist heat therapy and/or other treatment purposes. In theeye compress configuration shown in FIG. 5, the flexible outer shellincludes a generally triangular or trapezoidal nose cut-out area 506 ata medial portion of its lower edge, between first and second lobes 508a, 508 b for covering areas over and around the user's left and righteyes when in use, with the ties or an elastic strap placed around theuser's head, typically over the ears, to retain the compress 500 inplace.

The size of the enclosures and overall dressing are selected to servethe desired treatment. Selected single sites for treatment such as theeye may best be treated using a single enclosure dressing or compressappropriately sized and shaped to rest comfortably in the eye hollow ofthe human face. The dressing or compress may be shaped as a regular orirregular polygon, any smooth closed curve, or any closed combination ofline segments and smooth curves. The invention is not limited toconstructions conforming to or only serving the human body. Theinvention provides a potentially useful treatment for the ailments ofmammals and any animals benefiting from the healing properties ofmoisture and/or heat therapy.

A fluid-permeable, i.e., a vapor-permeable and/or a liquid-permeableprotective outer cover (not illustrated) may be provided to encompassthe compress. This may be preferable to limit contamination of thedressing or compress. For the treatment of open wounds, an uncovereddisposable dressing (not illustrated) may be preferred for optimalformable contact with, and healing of, the exposed tissues.Alternatively, the cover and other materials of the compress or dressingare washable for repeated re-use.

The fill contained within the enclosure or enclosures may comprise asynthetic porous crystalline granular aluminosilicate zeolite, commonlyused as a molecular sieve material, or other substances with similarproperties. The fill material may further comprise other inert additivesand physical matrices without affecting the antimicrobial and hydrousefficacies of the fill. Optionally, the wound dressing and/or therapycompress comprises a granular fill material such as a hydrophiliczeolite or molecular sieve material, with at least one metallicantimicrobial agent, such as for example a silver, copper, copper oxide,gold, magnesium oxide, aluminum oxide, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide,cobalt, nickel, zirconium, molybdenum, tin, lead and/or other metals,metal oxides, metal ions, metal particles or nanoparticles, and alloys,mixtures or combinations thereof deposited therein. For example, silveror other metal loading of the fill may be attained by the process ofion-exchange, as known. In this process, a solution containing atomicsilver or a composition of silver bathes, or is passed through, a bed ofthe fill granules 108 (FIG. 1). An ion-exchange column method, as knownin the art, may be performed in which an aqueous solution containingatomic silver or a composition of silver may be passed through a columnbed of the fill granules, and the eluted solution may again be passedthrough the bed or may receive additional silver and then be againpassed through the bed.

Various ion-exchange schedules known in the art may be applied toproduce retention of the silver or other metals. For example, the finalcontent by weight of the atomic silver or silver composition may be ashigh as twenty percent of the final loaded fill granules. The loadedfill granules produced by ion-exchange will exhibit high retention ofthe silver or other metals even under subsequent exposure to fluids andmicrowave irradiation. The fill granules may comprise a blend of bothloaded and unloaded zeolite or a substance retaining silver or othermetals. The presence of the atomic silver or other metals will notinterfere with the useful properties of the fill granules such as themoisture desorption and adsorption properties which may be desirable inthe use of the dressing or compress. The inherent hydrophilic nature ofthe zeolite provides that a substantial water content is availabletherein by absorption from the atmosphere. The water so absorbed may besufficient, or may be supplemented by manually added water, forproviding the microwave responsive water content of the dressing orcompress. The compositions of silver or other metals used may includebut are not limited to, metal compounds, and metal salts such as silverchloride and silver nitrate.

The presence of the silver or other metals within the fill granulescontained in the enclosure of the invention provides anti-microbialproperties to the dressing or compress. The ion-exchange loaded fillgranules will retain the silver or other metals despite microwaveheating as may be required in the use of the dressing or compress, whichprevents the release of silver or other metals into a treated wound ifthe invention is used as a dressing. Further, the retention of thesilver or other metals within the fill granules provides assuredantimicrobial performance in a reusable and potentially washable, if sodesired, moist heat therapy compress.

The compress or dressing of the present invention alternativelycomprises fill granules such as a hydrophilic zeolite with or withoutanti-microbial metal(s) disposed therein. For wound dressingapplications, the provision of anti-microbial metal(s) may bepreferable. For therapeutic compress applications, the provision ofanti-microbial metal(s) is optional. Moist heat therapy applied by anarea compress may be beneficial to the treatment of arthritic orsprained joints, strained muscles, back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, orin any treatment where heat might be applied through or to the skin of ahuman or animal patient or subject, to promote circulation therein andthere under. In such applications where no wound exudates contaminate(imbedded metals may not be incorporated into the molecular sievegranules when used for this purpose), reusability and ability to washthe compress are attractive cost-efficient design features. Thus,example embodiments of the invention comprise a washable and/or reusablecompress.

In the described embodiments of the invention, the lower shell and theupper backing are each constructed of materials known in the art. Eachmay therefore be comprised of multilayered laminates, for example, withpore sizes selectable to meet the moisture transmission and retentionproperties desired for the specific treatment sought. The dressing orcompress is adapted to be placed and to remain in intimate contact withthe area to be treated to maintain a heated and/or moist environmentthereabout. Dressing or compress constructions using woven textiles ofnatural fibers have been found to have limited spatial conformance tothe various shapes, dimples, wrinkles and joints offered by the humanbody, although these materials may be used if so desired.

Accordingly, preferred dressing or compress constructions will useformable woven and non-woven synthetic materials or combinations thereofwhich may include, but are not limited to, synthetic olefin, polyester,urethane, and nylon. The shell and the backing may be fastened togetheracross the area of the dressing or compress with a fill material, thefill granules 108, received there between. The shell and the backing maybe fastened to one another by methods which may include, but are notlimited to, adhesive attachment, RF welding, ultra-sonic attachment,sewing, or patterned heat application using a template or forming die toform a seal. To provide for the secure placement of the dressing orcompress, peripheral or attachment fastening devices may be includedwhich may comprise the desired number of Velcro®-type fasteners,adhesives, high tactility polymer materials, and/or material ties.

Throughout the construction of the dressing or compress, attention andcare is taken in the selection of materials regarding thermal responseto microwave heating. For design simplicity, all synthetic, microwavenon-responsive materials may be selected to provide that the fill and/orwater content of a moistened dressing or compress provide the onlysubstantial thermal response to microwave irradiation.

Although several embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in theforegoing specification, it is understood by those skilled in the artthat many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will cometo mind to which the invention pertains, having the benefit of theteaching presented in the foregoing description and associated drawings.It is thus understood that the invention is not limited to the specificembodiments disclosed hereinabove, and that many modifications and otherembodiments are intended to be included within the scope of theinvention. Moreover, although specific terms are employed herein, theyare used only in a generic and descriptive sense, and not for thepurposes of limiting the described invention. The words “a,” “an,” or“the” can mean one or more, depending upon the context in which thewords are used hereinabove.

What is claimed is:
 1. A therapeutic compress for moist heat therapytreatment of a treated body part of a human or animal patient byapplication of the compress to the treated body part and transfer ofmoist heat to the treated body part, the compress comprising: a flexibleouter shell for application to the treated body part of the patient, theouter shell forming at least one enclosure, and being microwavecompatible for repeated microwave heating, the flexible outer shellbeing transmissive of moist heat from within the at least one enclosurethrough the flexible outer shell to the treated body part to which thecompress is applied; a plurality of fill granules loosely containedwithin the at least one enclosure, wherein the plurality of fillgranules consist essentially of hydrophilic zeolite particles forretaining moist heat and delivery of moist heat from the hydrophiliczeolite fill granules through the flexible outer shell to provide moistheat therapy to the treated body part of the patient, wherein thehydrophilic zeolite fill granules allow repeated absorption anddissipation of moisture and heat to and from the hydrophilic zeolitefill granules for repeated therapeutic deliveries of moist heat therapyfrom the compress to the treated body part of the patient.
 2. Thetherapeutic compress of claim 1, wherein the treated body part of thepatient is an eye, and the compress is configured as an eye compress fortreatment of the eye.
 3. The therapeutic compress of claim 2, whereinthe flexible outer shell comprises first and second lobes, each forapplication over a respective left and right eye region of the patient,and a nose cut-out region between the first and second lobes.
 4. Thetherapeutic compress of claim 1, wherein the hydrophilic zeolite fillgranules comprise an antimicrobial metal retained therein.
 5. Thetherapeutic compress of claim 4, wherein the antimicrobial metal isselected from silver, copper, copper oxide, gold, magnesium oxide,aluminum oxide, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, cobalt, nickel, zirconium,molybdenum, tin, lead, metal oxides, metal ions, metal particles ornanoparticles, and alloys, mixtures and combinations thereof.
 6. Thetherapeutic compress of claim 1, wherein the outer shell comprises asynthetic fabric selected from synthetic olefin, polyester, urethane,nylon, and combinations thereof.
 7. The therapeutic compress of claim 1,wherein the at least one enclosure defines a geometric shape selectedfrom a hexagon, a circle, an ellipse, a channel, and a polygon.
 8. Thetherapeutic compress of claim 1, wherein the flexible outer shell iswashable.
 9. The therapeutic compress of claim 1, wherein the treatedbody part of the patient is a human back, and the compress is configuredas a moist heat back wrap.
 10. A moist heat back wrap for therapeutictreatment of a human subject's back by application of the back wrap tothe human subject's back to deliver moist heat to at least a portion ofthe back, the moist heat back wrap comprising: a flexible outer shellconfigured for application to the human subject's back, the outer shellforming at least one enclosure, and being microwave compatible forrepeated microwave heating, the flexible outer shell being transmissiveof moist heat from within the at least one enclosure through theflexible outer shell to the human subject's back to which the compressis applied; a plurality of fill granules loosely contained within the atleast one enclosure, wherein the plurality of fill granules consistessentially of hydrophilic zeolite particles for retaining moist heatand delivery of moist heat from the hydrophilic zeolite fill granulesthrough the flexible outer shell to provide moist heat therapy to thehuman subject's back, wherein the hydrophilic zeolite fill granulesallow repeated absorption and dissipation of moisture and heat to andfrom the hydrophilic zeolite fill granules for repeated therapeuticdeliveries of moist heat therapy from the compress to the humansubject's back.
 11. The moist heat back wrap of claim 10, wherein thehydrophilic zeolite fill granules comprise an antimicrobial metalretained therein.
 12. The moist heat back wrap of claim 11, wherein theantimicrobial metal is selected from silver, copper, copper oxide, gold,magnesium oxide, aluminum oxide, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, cobalt,nickel, zirconium, molybdenum, tin, lead, metal oxides, metal ions,metal particles or nanoparticles, and alloys, mixtures and combinationsthereof.
 13. The moist heat back wrap of claim 10, wherein the outershell comprises a synthetic fabric selected from synthetic olefin,polyester, urethane, nylon, and combinations thereof.
 14. The moist heatback wrap of claim 10, wherein the at least one enclosure defines ageometric shape selected from a hexagon, a circle, an ellipse, achannel, and a polygon.
 15. The moist heat back wrap of claim 10,wherein the flexible outer shell is washable.
 16. A moist heat wrap fortherapeutic treatment of a body part of a human subject by applicationof the wrap to the body part to deliver moist heat to the body part, themoist heat wrap comprising: a flexible outer shell configured forapplication to the body part, the outer shell forming at least oneenclosure, and being microwave compatible for repeated microwaveheating, the flexible outer shell being transmissive of moist heat fromwithin the at least one enclosure through the flexible outer shell tothe body part to which the compress is applied; a plurality of fillgranules loosely contained within the at least one enclosure, whereinthe plurality of fill granules consist essentially of hydrophiliczeolite particles for retaining moist heat and delivery of moist heatfrom the hydrophilic zeolite fill granules through the flexible outershell to provide moist heat therapy to the body part, wherein thehydrophilic zeolite fill granules allow repeated absorption anddissipation of moisture and heat to and from the hydrophilic zeolitefill granules for repeated therapeutic deliveries of moist heat therapyfrom the compress to the body part.
 17. The moist neck wrap of claim 16,wherein the hydrophilic zeolite fill granules comprise an antimicrobialmetal retained therein.
 18. The moist heat wrap of claim 17, wherein theantimicrobial metal is selected from silver, copper, copper oxide, gold,magnesium oxide, aluminum oxide, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, cobalt,nickel, zirconium, molybdenum, tin, lead, metal oxides, metal ions,metal particles or nanoparticles, and alloys, mixtures and combinationsthereof.
 19. The moist heat wrap of claim 16, wherein the outer shellcomprises a synthetic fabric selected from synthetic olefin, polyester,urethane, nylon, and combinations thereof.
 20. The moist heat wrap ofclaim 16, wherein the at least one enclosure defines a geometric shapeselected from a hexagon, a circle, an ellipse, a channel, and a polygon.21. The moist heat wrap of claim 16, wherein the flexible outer shell iswashable.
 22. A moist heat wrap article for delivery of moist heattherapy to a treatment area of a human body, the article comprising: amoist heat permeable shell for application to the treatment area bywrapping the shell about a portion of the human body, the shell forminga plurality of enclosures defining elongate channels extending generallyparallel to one another; and a plurality of fill granules looselycontained within each of the plurality of enclosures defining elongatechannels, the fill granules being moisture absorptive and releasing saidmoisture upon heating for delivering moist heat from the fill granulesthrough the moist heat permeable shell to the treatment area, the fillgranules consisting essentially of hydrophilic zeolite particles; and atleast one attachment strap attached to the shell and comprising ahook-and-loop fastener material for securing the shell in place wrappedabout the portion of the human body at the treatment area.
 23. Thearticle of claim 22, wherein the hydrophilic zeolite granules areconfigured to allow repeated absorption and dissipation of moisture toand from the hydrophilic zeolite material.
 24. The article of claim 22,wherein the shell comprises a synthetic microwave non-responsive fabric.25. The article of claim 22, wherein the shell is fluid permeable. 26.The article of claim 22, wherein the shell and the plurality of fillgranules are configured to be reused after washing.
 27. The article ofclaim 22, wherein at least a portion of the hydrophilic zeolite fillgranules are antimicrobial, comprising up to twenty percent weightcontent of silver.
 28. The article of claim 27, wherein the silvercomprises at least one of the group comprising atomic silver, silvercompounds, silver salts, silver chloride, and silver nitrate.
 29. Thearticle of claim 27, wherein the fill granules comprise silver-loadedzeolite granules and unloaded zeolite granules.
 30. A moist heat backwrap for delivery of moist heat to a back body portion of a humansubject, the moist heat back wrap comprising: a moist heat permeableshell configured for application to the back body portion by wrapping atleast partially about a torso of the human subject, the shell comprisinga plurality of enclosures defining channels extending generally parallelto one another; a plurality of fill granules loosely contained withinthe plurality of enclosures defining channels for delivering moist heatfrom the fill granules through the moist heat permeable shell to theback of the human subject, the fill granules consisting essentially ofhydrophilic zeolite particles; and at least one attachment strapextending from the shell and comprising a hook-and-loop fastenermaterial for securing the shell in place on the back body portion andwrapped at least partially about the torso of the human subject.
 31. Theback wrap of claim 30, wherein the hydrophilic zeolite particles areconfigured to allow repeated absorption and dissipation of moisture. 32.The back wrap of claim 30, wherein the flexible backing and shellcomprises a synthetic microwave non-responsive fabric.
 33. The back wrapof claim 30, wherein the shell is fluid permeable.
 34. The back wrap ofclaim 30, wherein the shell and the plurality of fill granules areconfigured to be reused after washing.
 35. The back wrap of claim 30,wherein at least a portion of the hydrophilic zeolite particles areantimicrobial, comprising up to twenty percent weight content of silver.36. The back wrap of claim 35, wherein the silver comprises at least oneselected from the group comprising atomic silver, silver compounds,silver salts, silver chloride, and silver nitrate.
 37. The back wrap ofclaim 35, wherein the hydrophilic zeolite particles comprisesilver-loaded zeolite particles and unloaded zeolite particles.
 38. Amoist heat back wrap for delivery of moist heat therapy to a humansubject's back, the back wrap comprising a moist heat permeable shellcomprising a plurality of enclosures, the enclosures defining generallyrectangular channels filled with particles loosely contained therein,wherein the particles consist essentially of hydrophilic zeoliteparticles, and having attachment straps extending from opposite sides ofthe shell, the straps comprising hook-and-loop fastener material forsecuring the back wrap to the human subject's back for delivery of moistheat therapy thereto.
 39. A therapeutic compress for moist heat therapytreatment of a treated body part of a human or animal patient byapplication of the compress to the treated body part and transfer ofmoist heat to the treated body part, the compress comprising: a flexibleouter shell for application to the treated body part of the patient, theouter shell forming at least one enclosure, and being microwavecompatible for repeated microwave heating, the flexible outer shellbeing transmissive of moist heat from within the at least one enclosurethrough the flexible outer shell to the treated body part to which thecompress is applied; a plurality of hydrophilic zeolite fill granulesloosely contained within the at least one enclosure for retaining moistheat and delivery of moist heat from the hydrophilic zeolite fillgranules through the flexible outer shell to provide moist heat therapyto the treated body part of the patient, wherein the hydrophilic zeolitefill granules allow repeated absorption and dissipation of moisture andheat to and from the hydrophilic zeolite fill granules for repeatedtherapeutic deliveries of moist heat therapy from the compress to thetreated body part of the patient; wherein the treated body part of thepatient is a human back, and the compress is configured as a moist heatback wrap.